Obfuscation is the process of scrambling and encrypting software so that it cannot be easily reverse-engineered. The goal is to stop all casual hackers and as many serious hackers as possible from trying inspect and crack the code.
As I described in my article "Obfuscation? Gesundheit!," programs written for .NET can be reverse-engineered quite easily. Anyone with a decompiler such as the free .NET Reflector can look at .NET applications and libraries and literally see the entire original source code, including names, logic and flow. Hackers can inspect .NET software to find and exploit its security flaws, steal unique ideas and license keys, or pirate the application. To plug this massive security hole, .NET software should be obfuscated.
Following is a list of .NET obfuscators available today and any online reviews. Price is for one developer license unless otherwise noted. A plus sign indicates the price is for the standard version, and advanced versions are available. Please comment if any obfuscators are missing, or if you would like to report any new reviews, updates, errors or broken links, as I will keep this list updated.
| Obfuscator | Company | Price | Reviews |
| Aspose.Obfuscator | Aspose | free, no support | HTSG |
| Assemblur | Metapropeller | free | |
| AssemblyLockbox | Gibwo | $49.95/month service | |
| Babel | Alberto Ferrazzoli | free | |
| C# Source Code Obfuscator | Semantic Designs | $200 | |
| CliSecure | SecureTeam | call vendor | |
| CodeArmor .NET | v.i. labs | call vendor | VIL |
| CodeVeil | Xheo | $899 | |
| Decompiler.NET | Jungle Creatures | $550 | HTSG |
| DeepSea Obfuscator | TallApplications BV | $299 | |
| Demeanor for .NET | Wise Owl | $799 | HTSG |
| Deploy.NET | Jungle Creatures | $750 | HTSG |
| DNGuard HVM | ZiYuXuan Studio | $899 | |
| Dotfuscator Community | PreEmptive Solutions | free with Visual Studio | |
| Dotfuscator Professional | PreEmptive Solutions | call vendor | HTSG, CRN, JOT |
| dotNet Protector | pvlog | €300+ | HTSG |
| Eazfuscator.NET | Oleksiy Gapotchenko | free | |
| Goliath .NET Obfuscator | Cantelmo Software | free, donations | |
| Google Obfuscar | free | ||
| LSW IL-Obfuscator | Lesser-Software | $29 | |
| .NET Reactor | Eziriz | $179 | DOL |
| Obfuscator.NET | Macrobject | $199 | |
| PC Guard for .NET | SofPro | €399 | |
| Phoenix Protector | NTCore | free | |
| Postbuild .NET Obfuscator | Xenocode | $1599 for 5 | |
| QND-Obfuscator | Desaware | $39.95 | HTSG |
| Salamander .NET Obfuscator | Remotesoft | $799 | HTSG, Egg, JOT |
| Salamander .NET Protector | Remotesoft | $1,899 | HTSG |
| SharpObfuscator | CodePlex | free | |
| Skater .NET Obfuscator | Rustemsoft | $99+ | |
| {smartassembly} | Cachupa | $399+ | DOL, Neo |
| Spices.Net Obfuscator | 9rays.net | $699 | HTSG, DOL |
| Thinstall | vmware | $4,995+ |
Updated:
- 29-Apr-08: Added Assemblur, DeepSea Obfuscator.
- 15-Jul-08: Phoenix Protector now free. Added Google Obfuscar, SharpObfuscator, and some reviews.
- 25-Sep-08: Added Babel.
Popularity: 32% [?]
Related posts:
[...] .NET Obfuscators (Timm Martin) [...]
One more (mine), not so actively maintained but still updated from time to time:
http://www.metapropeller.com
"The goal is to stop all casual hackers and as many serious hackers as possible from trying inspect and crack the code." and also to stop people from learning anything from you.
One more with Silverlight support: DeepSea Obfuscator.
See http://www.deepseaobfuscator.com
Updated, thank you.
There is a review for CodeArmor product. It was done by Information Security
http://www.vilabs.com/docs/InformationSecurity_CodeArmor_Review.pdf
1)http://www.codeplex.com/SharpObfuscator
And also:
2)http://code.google.com/p/obfuscar/
Obfuscation…
Hvorfor Obfuscation? Den koden du skriver for .NET ligger helt åpen for alle å se selv om den er i form av en dll eller exefil. Siden disse filene blir kompilert først i runtime av …….
Latest Phoenix Protector 1.4 is freeware now as well…
http://www.ntcore.com/phoenix.php
Updated. Thank you, everyone.
I have done an obfuscator that you can download at:
It is free and it works well. Give it a try:
Its name is Babel and can be downloaded at:
http://code.google.com/p/babelobfuscator/
Features:
Type, Methods, Events, Properties, Fields name obfuscation.
MSIL control flow obfuscation
String encryption
It is based on new Microsoft Phoenix Technology see:
http://connect.microsoft.com/Phoenix
bye
Please can you update the list of obfuscators adding Babel Obfuscator?
Name: Babel
Company: Alberto Ferrazzoli
Price: Free
Address:
http://code.google.com/p/babelobfuscator/
Updated, added Babel.
I have a .NET application that runs in conjunction with MS XP/Vista and Microsoft PowerPoint. I want to deploy the strongest code protection option available that will be fully compatible with Microsoft Office Applications to help avoid .NET support/compatibility issues, e.g. missing interop assemblies or .NET updates. Considering these and future compatibility issues which is a better solution:
- Code obfuscation for .NET – stick with .NET and make it more difficult to reverse engineer
- Code conversion from .NET to native code. Could we deploy to platforms without .NET Framework or support Office for Mac using this approach?
It comes down to how much you want to pay for your requirements.
Some obfuscators are real crap. At the very least, the obfuscator should crash .NET Reflector when you attempt to read the protected assembly. CodeWall is a good choice at $399.
But the best obfuscators will also foil in-memory attacks. CodeVeil and CliSecure are examples, but both cost over $1200/seat.
If you are concerned about clients having the proper version of .NET installed, then you may want to convert from .NET to native code. XenoCode PostBuild is an example at $1600/seat.